Atv's: A Mans World

Robert Cluck

Freshman English II

Propaganda Essay

ATV's: A Man's World

Propaganda is everywhere. It is on the television, in the newspapers, magazines, and the internet. Everywhere you turn, it's there. The problem with this is that people merely dismiss it as truth. When people see propaganda, they don't "see" propaganda; they see a nice new sport-utility vehicle with a "powerful engine" and "cool rims". When an advertisement uses propaganda, it's over-looked and the reader is caught in the trap laid out for him. People see everything the designer of that particular advertisement wants them to see. The advertisements selected and interpreted for this assignment are directed towards male's ages 18 to 27 in the United States. They use three different forms of propaganda to send the same message; "Buy this, it's fun and your friends will be so jealous."

The first advertisement, for the Arctic Cat 650, uses the glittering generalities technique to lure people into buying their product. It depicts a young man riding their product, a massive ATV, with a helmet and ATV eyewear. He is covered in mud from head to toe and seems to carry this "I'm better than you are." persona. It seams to me that simply because he is riding this particular product, he feels as though he is better than any who is not riding the same ATV. The glittering generalities technique uses specific words to make us believe that their product is better for us or will make us happier than their competitors' similar product. This advertisement uses many "glittering" words and phrases to make their product more appealing to those targeted. Some of these phrases include 'new and improved for 2005' and 'the amazing'. These glittering generalizations could be said about any all-terrain vehicle. The problem with generalizations is that there is no hard evidence to back it up, they simply state what the designer wants them to state. However, the normal reader of this advertisement would never question the truth of the words stated therein. Other generalizations in this advertisement include, 'the most powerful ATV on the market'. How can they claim this without giving proof of their claim? Simple, they are using propaganda to stretch the truth.

Another advertisement uses testimonials or endorsements to sell their product, the Kawasaki Brute Force. This ad shows their product ahead of the pack in an actual race. He is just crossing the finish line as the picture was taken. This leads the reader to believe that the Brute Force is in fact better than their competitors' product. For the crowd that this advertisement targets winning is everything, and that is exactly what aids this ad in selling the product. It paints a picture of a life on the edge, a life where one mistake is life or death and one second is the difference between winning and losing. This is a perfect picture for the avid ATV racer. The testimonial technique is an endorsement of a product by a well-known group or organization to influence the beliefs of the intended viewers. In this advertisement, there are several testimonials. In fact, that is all there is in this advertisement, testimonials. Some of these testimonials include; "...the rider has absolute rule over differential lock control." -ATV Magazine and "The new larger displacement version of the popular V-twin motor is sure to be even more of a threat to take top honors..." -Dirt Wheels. These are very important matters to the avid ATV

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enthusiast, and if these groups say that this is the best ATV on the market or that it will take top honors who am I to question their opinions. This is sort of like the old phrase, "If they say it, it must be true."

The last advertisement, the Bombardier ATV, uses the plain folk's device in an attempt to make the reader believe that they understand what drives our decisions for

when and what to buy. The picture in this ad is of a man crossing a wide-open field as the sun goes down rounding up his cattle. This is symbolic to the plain folks device and seems to further the belief that this is an everyday tool that can be used by anyone for anything all the time. The sun is also setting on him, and he seams to be in a rush to get all he has to have done before the sun goes down finished. It is as the Bombardier is the only way that this is going to happen. Therefore, the reader may feel that without this product they will always be just a little too late and never catch up on the work expected of them. This helps to sell the fact that this is an ATV for the common man who is in a constant struggle to finish his work. Politicians, teachers, and salesmen try to identify with working class individuals by using the plain folk's device. In this advertisement, the designer hits on key points that he or she believes to be important to "plain folks". The factor that seems to be the most important through the authors' eyes is the price. Stating that the new Bombardier ATV is now lighter where it matters most, and that includes the price. You can see where this is going from the very beginning. Sure, the Bombardier is a reasonably priced ATV, but is it a quality built machine. Then you actually take the time to look at the picture of someone else riding their product.

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This thing is cheap, you think to yourself contemplating its worth. This is exactly what the advertisement is intended to do. The author wants you to stop to think about their product; because once they have gotten into your mind, it's only a matter of time before you start trying to figure out a way that you can afford what they have to sell.